Unown Elements
by Metal Dragoon
Summary: Three kids, an Air Bison, a lemur, and one displaced Trainer missing most of his team.  Standing against them, the entire Fire Nation's military might.  Some things a Pokemon journey just CAN'T prepare you for.  Co-Authored by MrRigger
1. Worlds Apart

The two lab techs chattered aimlessly to each other as they walked down the hall, barely paying a glance to the burly figure in the standard black grunt uniform as he stood aside to let them pass. His eyes lingered on them for a few minutes before he shook his head.

'_Where the hell does Giovanni hire his female help? I ain't seen a gal rating less than a 7.5 since I got in here._' Shaking his head once again to get back in the game, he squared his shoulders and moved further down the hall. His target was in sight now. The thin keening sound that was tearing its way into his brain through the "sound-proof" door were all signs that this was the place. Palming a key-card, he swiped it through, waited a second, and then smirked lightly as the mag-lock sparked and died. The smirk dropped off his face as he stepped right into a scene from any conscionable trainer's personal hell.

There were two scientists manning a console, goggles obscuring their faces as they looked on dispassionately. The target - an "A" Unown that had been smuggled out of the Ruins of Alph somehow - was contained in a field of arcing energy that seemed to be leeching away at its very life-force in the most painful way possible. It was the source of the keening shriek that was now battering at his eardrums. The flashes, however, were coming from a second machine hooked up to the one containing the Unown. Spinning on a platform was a Porygon, the synthetic Pokémon looking much worse for the wear as it was being constantly blasted by artificial approximations of elemental attacks. Each attack was timed so that the Porygon had a chance to use its Conversion 2 ability to make itself immune to the elemental damage being done, before it was hit by a new element. The process took only a few seconds each time, and judging from the timer that one of the scientists was looking at, they'd been at this for more than three hours.

According to the mission brief, this particular installation was attempting to use the Unown's power to incite some sort of elemental evolution in a Porygon, which Team Rocket would then strip to its bare coding to dissect all its secrets and begin a mass-production of them.

Unfortunately for them, PSI-Com had gotten wind of it, and they'd sent Solomon LaCroix in. The Field Agent twisted his wrists, deploying the spring-loaded tonfa that were strapped to his forearms. One of the scientists, maybe sensing someone coming up behind him, turned just in time to take a straight punch to the side of his face. He fell, twirling like a drunken ballerina, even as the other man was laid out by a similar strike to the back of the head.

The plan had been simple. Infiltrate, stop the experiment and secure the lab, then release his team, drain their databanks dry, methodically clear the complex, and level the place. It went up in a shower of energy as the first scientist's head slammed a control lever on the panel. The energy field around the Unown exploded outwards as the semi-Legendary used its powers to rip a hole through reality back to its home pocket dimension. Maybe it was the fear and anger of the creature that caused it. Maybe it was blind panic... But whatever the reason, when the portal the Pokémon was intent on using opened, several other portals opened around the room as well.

LaCroix was closest to the machine that had held the tortured Porygon when the portals opened. So he had a clear view of its expression as a portal ripped apart its body from the inside out. The sound it made as it died would haunt his nightmares for the rest of his life. He didn't even have time to grab something before he was sucked off his feet, and into the abyss.

Then there was falling. Or maybe it was flying. It was hard to tell. He was pretty sure he'd tasted blue, heard sunshine and seen music as he traveled through the portal. Luckily, at that point, his consciousness had had enough and decided to vacate the premises for a while until the world made sense again.

Thus, he was out cold when he fell through another rip in space/time, and hit the ground hard enough to bounce, right at the feet of a tattooed boy dressed in orange robes. The boy blinked for a moment, before gently prodding at the man who'd fallen out of the vanished hole in reality with the end of his staff.

0oOo0

Sokka leaned against one of the pillars in the house the Elder was letting them borrow as Aang and his sister looked over the man who'd fallen out of thin air. It had taken a bit of fast talking, but Aang was vouching for the guy, no doubt spurred on by his inherent faith in all people as well as his far too developed sense of curiosity. Sokka had to admit, he was curious too, but still, the guy fell out of thin. Freaking. Air! That was NOT normal, even for the Avatar.

Now Aang was poking and prodding at him, trying to "sense a mystic connection". He thought the guy had fallen out of the spirit world. Ugh. Sighing, he looked down at the small sphere in his hand. It had fallen off the man's belt when he'd hit the ground, and Sokka had picked it up out of curiosity. It was a little larger than a date and made out of some sort of metal. It looked like it was two pieces, one red, and one white, though the craftsmanship was so fine that he couldn't see a seam. It also had a small dot in the center. Shrugging to himself, he pressed it.

The thing expanded, becoming twice as large as his loosely clenched fist. He gave a yelp and dropped it. Upon impact with the floor, the thing split open, releasing a blinding stream of light accompanied by a strange rushing noise. Sokka found himself rushing for the door as something filled the room. Aang and Katara had turned suddenly when he'd yelped, and both of them were blinded by the flash of light as well. Both backed against the wall of the house. After a moment, their eyesight had readjusted, and Sokka found himself reaching for his boomerang. There had been some... THING, in that sphere!

It was huge, much larger than a full-grown man, to the point of filling most of the room. It had fiery red and yellow skin, with a wingspan that hit opposite walls. A frightening intelligence gleamed in its eyes, and after a moment of confused observation, it spotted the stranger. A sparking hiss filled the air as it scrambled to crouch protectively around the unconscious man. It pushed at the man with one of its stubby arms, flaring its wings and swept its flaming tail back and forth threateningly when it didn't get an immediate response.

Sokka began to creep forward, looking for any kind of weak point or blind spot on the Fire Nation Creature, before freezing again as the man stirred and then groaned aloud, one hand going to massage his skull as still-closed eyes scrunched in pain. "Ugh, anyone get the number on that Rhyhorn?"

0oOo0

LaCroix's eyes fluttered open, to be greeted by the familiar hue of Firestorm's yellow stomach, though he could see little else. But if Firestorm was standing over him, and he was still brushing away the cobwebs of unconsciousness, what had happened? "Firestorm, what're you doing?" he asked, rolling over and scanning his surroundings.

"Hey, you're awake!" One of them was young, barely even a teen probably, with what looked like arrows tattooed onto his arms and even his bald scalp. He was dressed in robes of brown and orange. The kid looked like he wanted to bounce forward, but Firestorm's looming form was keeping him away. For now. A warning light began to blink in the back of his mind. Next to him was a gal with mocha skin and dark hair, dressed in blue trimmed with white fur. The warning light was joined by a small buzzer.

"Katara, Aang, get away from him! Can't you see that... that THING? It's obviously from the Fire Nation!" a new voice exclaimed from just out of sight. LaCroix levered himself up to a sitting position and took a look. Another boy, probably related to the girl due to looks and the mode of address. Also decked out in blue and white furs, and his hand on the hilt of some sort of weapon, the other hand pointing straight at LaCroix. And not a single one of them looked to have a pokeball on them. The blinking light and buzzer were overridden by a loud, clear klaxon siren. The breeze shifted and carried in a clear scent. One he'd grown up with in Vermilion City, though it was... cleaner than he remembered. The ocean. The lab he'd been sent to shut down had been hidden outside of Azalea Town. There wasn't any ocean near Azalea, the closest body of water was that stupid well people always fell in. He collapsed back so he was lying down, and stared up at the (wooden?) ceiling.

"I'm not in Johto anymore, am I?"

"Where's that?" The tattooed kid was back, inching closer despite the look Firestorm was wearing. LaCroix sat up again, leaning slightly on his oldest Pokemon, reassuring them both with the touch.

"Hopefully closer than I think. But probably far, far away. Stop me if any of these names sound familiar please. Johto, Kanto, Sinnoh, Hoenn..." he trailed off as all three kids shook their heads each time. "Pokemon?" he tried weakly. The tall kid, Sokka, quirked one eyebrow.

"What's a 'pokey mon'? Some new weapon from the Fire Nation?"

LaCroix's tone was exhausted as his mind raced with the possibilities and likelihoods of what had happened. "Combination of two words. "Poke" for "pocket"," he reached down and plucked Firestorm's pokéball from the floor. "And "mon" for monster." He pointed at the cramped Charizard still standing over him. "Poke-Mon. Now I don't suppose that you could tell me where I am?"

The bald kid, Aang, smiled. '_More teeth in there than on a Sharpedo_,' the man noted idly in a corner of his shell-shocked mind.

"That's easy, you're on Kyoshi Island."

"Right." LaCroix looked down at his hands, which had begun to shake horribly. "Oh god. You kids don't even know what a Pokemon is, do you? Oh god. Oh God. Ohgodohgodohgodohgodoh-"

"Char…" Firestorm stepped in closer, surrounding LaCroix completely, arms locking around his chest, wings folding in tight and tail snaking around his legs. Firestorm's head bent down to cross LaCroix's shoulder, and the trainer was nearly completely encased by his Pokémon. LaCroix reveled in the warmth, knowing that to most, they'd be burning up from the Charizard's heat output, but he was just comforted. "Thanks buddy, I needed that." He turned to look at the kids again. "Sorry for the freakout, but I just realized something very upsetting. You shouldn't worry about it though. The name's Solomon LaCroix, PSI-Com. Call me LaCroix."

"And what exactly," a new, older voice broke through the moment of confused silence, "Is PSI-Com?" said agent looked to see an older gentleman, accompanied by three girls in some sort of armored dress and what looked like warpaint. His eyes were sharp, and the girls had their hands on long rectangular sticks that were stuck through their belts. He looked over at the kids, his tone respectful, but firm. "Avatar Aang, might I speak with our visitor for a moment? Alone?"

Aang's face fell for a moment, before lighting up again with a poorly concealed sly grin. "Okay. I want to ride the Elephant Koi again anyway. C'mon guys!" Sokka and Katara didn't look nearly as enthused, but they both met the old man's eyes, and then nodded, following the hyper-active kid. The old man waited until they were gone, before sitting down cross-legged just out of arm's reach for LaCroix, the two girls taking up obvious bodyguard stances on either side of him. The third girl moved to stand behind the old man, before a rustle of leaves had all the occupants of the room turning their heads. A pale, tattooed head tried to duck out of sight a moment too late.

The girl behind the old man sighed. "I'll take care of this Oyaji." Putting on her best gentle smile, the girl stepped out and began to speak quietly to the "hidden" children. After a few moments, the girl managed to convince the boy that yes, he _would_ in fact like a tour of the island, and that _no_ LaCroix and his strange pet (Firestorm's eyes narrowed slightly at the term) would still be there when he got back, along with any _other_ animals that the man had hidden away on him.

As soon as the children were actually gone for sure, Firestorm took up position behind his trainer, who merely met the old man's gaze stoically. "Now then, LaCroix, you may call me Oyaji. I have some questions for you."

LaCroix shrugged. "Fair enough. May I suggest an exchange of information though? For every question you ask me, I get to ask one in return. If you feel that I don't need to know, I'll ask a different question, though I request the same courtesy for myself."

Oyaji nodded. "That seems a fair proposition." And with that the game of mutual twenty questions began.

An hour later, LaCroix had managed to gather his wits, and was moving past stunned into simply marveling that he was even alive, mixed with equal parts concern about the world he'd found himself in.

Oyaji, on the other hand, appeared content with the answers that he had given him regarding who he was (a trained member of a law keeping force), his intentions towards the people of the island (try to get along and help out where needed to pay back any sort of debt he incurred for them allowing him to stay) and was most intrigued by his monster. The house he was in had been large enough for everyone once Firestorm had calmed down. LaCroix had let slip that he had other monsters, but apparently couldn't show them. Oyaji's expression when LaCroix had bluntly informed him that the house they were in was nowhere large enough to contain the other half of his team, would have been comical, if the girls... no, the _warriors_ guarding the man hadn't tensed up. He'd backpedaled, hard.

"I assure you, they're all big softies unless they're in battle. Well, except for Maelstrom, but his species is pretty grumpy to begin with. Not that I could show them to you anyway. Their pokeballs aren't here. They're not where I store them, in any case. Maybe they were dropped when you brought me here?"

Oyaji had nodded. "I see. I doubt the Kyoshi Warriors would have missed anything of yours, but I suppose we can certainly go take a look around. I'm not entirely convinced this isn't some sort of Fire Nation ploy, but I see no reason not to let you move around. We've kept out of this war for a hundred years, if you are part of the Fire Nation, taking you prisoner will only draw us in. But expect to be watched. Your… companion… is rather large, and our buildings are made of wood. I trust you understand. And I believe an introduction is in order. I don't want anyone being frightened unnecessarily."

Getting up, the old man had led the group out into the middle of the village, sending one of his guards to gather the rest of the warriors. LaCroix was forced to return Firestorm to his pokeball so he could get out of the house, something that had startled the Islanders, until LaCroix had assured them that it was perfectly alright and didn't harm Firestorm in the least. Aang, Sokka and Katara showed up quickly, probably having hung about waiting to learn more, if the excited looks on their faces were anything to go by. Sokka still eyed LaCroix suspiciously, and Katara was a little wary, but Aang looked at him with nothing but bubbly enthusiasm.

Stopping in a square containing a large statue, Oyaji looked expectantly at LaCroix. "You want to say something first, or just want me to show them?" Oyaji pondered the question for a moment.

"Go ahead and show everyone. Then we can answer any necessary questions." LaCroix nodded his understanding, taking a deep breath as he palmed Firestorm's pokeball.

'_Here goes nothing,'_ he thought to himself, before enlarging the time worn pokéball and tossing it into the air. "Firestorm, time for a meet-n-greet!" he yelled.

The ground nearly shook as all the oversized Charizard hit the ground. Firestorm stretched and stood erect for the first time since LaCroix had woken up, reaching more than twice the height of a man, spreading his wingspan to reach more than twenty feet across. The fire-tipped tail lashed back and forth, hazing the air with intense heat.

LaCroix basked in the presence of his oldest friend, his traveling companion for more than a decade. Most Charizard were only as tall as a man, but Firestorm had evolved years ago, and never stopped growing, reaching the size of some of the Charizards found in the Charific Valley. With his oldest friend by his side, LaCroix was confident he could meet any challenge.

And if even half of what Oyaji had told him about the Fire Nation was true, there were plenty of challenges in the future.

The villagers and the kids however, had rather different reactions. Muttering broke out as the Warriors who hadn't been with Oyaji during their talk took offensive stances. They focused on Firestorm, ignoring LaCroix altogether at this point. The Charizard looked around, cocking his head to one side. LaCroix nodded at Firestorm, and the beast relaxed, calming down. "Grah?" he growled out, before leaning his serpentine neck down, and scratching behind a horn with one clawed foot, a look of bliss on his face. There was a childish giggle from within the crowd, which had gone silent the moment he'd begun to move.

Granted, they had a right to be a little scared, if Oyaji's information about the Fire Nation was true. Firestorm was a living, breathing, fire-generating creature. And his size was something to consider too. Even lots of people back home were unnerved by how large Firestorm was at this point. However, as his size had grown, his aggressiveness outside of combat had shrunk. Now, unless he was training or fighting, the flame pokemon mainly enjoyed eating, sleeping, and serving as an impromptu jungle gym for LaCroix's pack of nephews and nieces from his brother and sister.

But seeing Firestorm put on a show for the villagers made LaCroix wonder just what happened to the rest of his team. He was honest when he told Oyaji he didn't know where they were. Considering just what he fell through, he considered himself lucky that he was still alive. But being without his team made him feel naked. He had been with them for years. And if he really was in a completely different world, he couldn't even access a PC to pull out some of his reserve Pokemon.

LaCroix shook his head to clear it of the distracting thoughts, bringing his focus back to the matter at hand. Everyone in the crowd was now focused solely on the gently burning flame at the tip of Firestorm's tail. The warriors began to step forward as the girl in blue, Katara, reached out and shakily drew a blob of water out of the nearby well. Wonderful, his first look at this "bending" stuff. Now he had to make sure that it didn't end up killing him or his team. It didn't look very dangerous, but neither did a Weedle, and their poison could be just as deadly as a Muk's. There were harsh mutters of "Fire Nation spy" going through the crowd now.

LaCroix moved in front of his partner, waving his arms back and forth. "Wait, wait, wait! I _swear_ we're not Fire Nation!" Firestorm started to get up from his half-reclined position, but LaCroix waved him back. The last thing they needed was Firestorm deciding that LaCroix was in danger from the villagers. Even as he did so, Aang suddenly fluttered past, and began to scratch Firestorm's other horn. The Charizard sighed in pleasure, laying all the way down on his stomach as the small boy continued his ministrations, and seeming to fall asleep. Aang looked like a kid with a brand new toy, at least in the agent's mind.

The crowd stopped, milling in confusion as the Avatar willingly interacted with the obviously Fire Nation creature. Oyaji stepped forward, speaking in a hushed voice to LaCroix even as he kept one eye on the PSI-Com agent and the other on the kid that was now scratching the spot in between Firestorm's wings. "You swear that he's not dangerous?"

LaCroix nodded furiously. "So long as he's not provoked, attacked, or acting in the defense of others he's as gentle as a lamb. Really, my brother and sister let their kids climb on him like a giant living playground. He loves it." The fact that Aang was pretty much doing exactly that served to underscore the point. Oyaji nodded, and turned to face the villagers. He ignored the chill that ran down his spine at turning his back on Firestorm, and focused on his people.

"Everyone, calm down! As you can see, this crea-"

"Firestorm," LaCroix interjected.

"Firestorm here, is quite gentle. So long as you don't provoke him, I am assured that he will do nothing to threaten anyone."

The crowd quieted. Between Oyaji, the Avatar, and Firestorm's behavior, it was fairly clear that he was not a vicious creature. The mutters died down, and a few of the braver kids (who were out of reach of their parents) darted forward to try and touch the creature as well. They froze en mass when Firestorm cracked an eye, before the reptile's lips curved into a fanged smirk, and he rolled onto one side, feigning indifference even as Aang was forced to jump off in order to avoid getting trapped beneath one of his wings. Emboldened by this, several of the older children darted forward to touch his side, belly, or the tip of his wings. One rather foolhardy child even tried to touch Firestorm's tailflame, but it was whisked out of his reach before he got within arm's length, at a height easily twice that of the child.

And then that Aang kid was back, bouncing around and asking rapid fire questions, peppering him faster than he could understand, much less answer. One that LaCroix managed to make out had him blurting "Say that again kid?"

Aang stopped in place. "I just asked you if Firestorm's a baby dragon? He kinda looks like one, but he's missing the mane and the feelers, and he's not nearly as big as an adult."

"Kid, Firestorm isn't a Dragon-type, though some folks think they were related millions of years ago. He's a Fire/Flying type. He's also a lot bigger than your average fully-grown Char. 'Scuse me."

LaCroix moved over to Oyaji again, getting the old man's attention. "One of my main concerns right now is how I'm going to feed Firestorm. I don't have any Pokechow with me, or at least not enough to keep him fed for a long time, so I'd appreciate it if you had any kind of advice on what kind of foods are okay for him to eat. Otherwise he might end up getting into something poisonous. He doesn't really have any filters when he starts foraging."

"I'm sure one of the Kyoshi Warriors can show you what's should be healthy for your monster. Though that might not be a concern right now," Oyaji pointed out, motioning to the children playing with the fire type.

0oOo0

LaCroix cursed quietly as he made his way back into the village proper. He, Firestorm, and his minders, excuse him - _guides_, had combed the area where he had been found, and the path he had been brought to the village by before searching the rest of the island as best he could. Firestorm had been able to find something to chow down on, charring it to a crisp before devouring the strange animal. At least the Kyoshi Warriors still following him around didn't seem to have any problem with what Firestorm was eating, though they were visibly startled when he roasted the hybrid creature with a Flamethrower.

Passing a few of the outlying structures, LaCroix noticed the boy in blue who, like everyone else, seemed convinced he was from this "Fire Nation" Oyaji had told him about, standing in the open doorway of one of the larger buildings.

0oOo0

Sokka snorted as he watched the girls move in slow motion in their "training hall". Looked more like they were practicing dancing to him. Why were they even trying? Girls weren't supposed to be warriors anyway, that was a job for men! Women were supposed to take care of the village, men were supposed to be the protectors. Suki, the girl in charge of the Kyoshi Warriors, caught the snort, and her eyes narrowed.

"So, not impressed?"

Sokka moved one hand in a so-so gesture. "Eh, not bad. For a bunch of girls." Suki's eyes narrowed further, and if Sokka had been paying attention, he'd have heard teeth grinding.

"That "bunch of girls" managed to take you and your friends down pretty easily." Sokka waved it off.

"Eh, a fluke."

"A fluke huh? How about you prove it then." She gestured to the training hall. "Me against you, one on one."

A few moments later, Sokka was flat on his back, with a triumphant Suki standing over him, fan spread to hide her smirk. "Still think it's a fluke?"

"Oh, it looks like he has promise, but no real instruction. Plus he's never fought against someone using your style. Why don't you give him another shot?"

"What are you doing here?" Sokka asked, still not convinced the man wasn't some kind of Fire Nation spy. He popped in out of nowhere, and he kept running around with that weird monster that was obviously from the Fire Nation, nope, Sokka wasn't planning on trusting him anytime soon.

"Just looking around. I wasn't able to find any of my other Pokeballs. I'm honestly getting a little worried about where they might be. I'm not nearly so effective in a fight without my team."

Sokka gulped. "Wait, you have more of those things? And now they're just running around?"

"Well, they aren't just like Firestorm, and as long as their pokeballs aren't damaged, they probably aren't roaming around on their own. Some Pokemon seem to be able to just pop out on their own, but none of my team have ever done it."

Suki snorted. "So you're useless in a fight without your monsters? I should have guessed that the people outside of Kyoshi Island wouldn't train as hard as us. And we're not even in the war."

"Well, I do know some self-defense and a few... other things, but I never dedicated my life to martial arts like some people do. But I can definitely tell that Sokka has some real promise, if he can get some real practice in against someone who knows what they're doing," LaCroix said, looking pointedly at Suki.

"Well, I suppose if he apologized for what he said…" Suki smirked at Sokka.

Sokka reddened fiercely. "No way! I'm not taking it back," he declared as he stomped out, embarrassed.

0oOo0

The smooth metal glinted as the sun hit it through the trees, catching the eye of the traveler passing by. "Hey, what's that?" the girl asked.

The boy standing next to her just shrugged.

"What are you two waiting for, we have to get moving before the Fire Nation gets here."

The girl waved at the guy calling back at her. "Boss, I think I found something. Maybe it's something new from the Fire Nation?"

"Alright, get out of the way, let me take a look at it." After a few seconds of inspection, the Pokéball expanded and opened. "Well, this is interesting."

0oOo0

"You know kid, you probably ought to apologize," LaCroix said as he sat down next to Sokka.

"Huh? What're you doing here?" Sokka asked, startled but trying to hide it.

"Just offering some friendly advice. I've done some traveling, and I've found that just because you grew up doing things one way, not everyone else did. And just because their way is different, doesn't make their way any better or worse. Besides, those girls really did look like they knew what they were doing. You could learn something from them, if you're willing."

0oOo0

The earthbender stomped a foot and the pokéball rose to the surface, popping open as a rock hit the front button as it moved. "Well this is new." The flash of light subsided and coalesced into a definitive form. "You're a big one, aren't you?"

0oOo0

"Aang? Can you come help me with the supplies? We need to get them packed up for our journey."

Aang clasped his hands behind his back and rocked on his heels nervously. "Well Katara, actually, some of the girls and I were going to go down to the bay to swim. Wanna come?"

"No, Aang, I want to get the supplies together so we can leave for the North Pole. If we keep making stops whenever we want, we won't get to the North Pole until next spring! Ergh!" Katara stomped off.

LaCroix debated whom to follow before walking after Katara. She could probably use a kind word more than Aang, and he'd done his fair share of packing in the past.

He followed the girl, Firestorm ambling along behind, and found her in a clearing with a fairly large white creature. Six legs, a tail like a Bibarel and a head like a Tauros. And more massive than most pokemon he'd ever seen. The girl was muttering under her breath as she climbed up and down the beast onto a large platform strapped to its back, taking supplies up as she went.

Motioning for Firestorm to stay at the edge of the clearing, in case the scent of a predator spooked the beast, he moved closer, making sure to scuff his feet as he went. His years stalking pokemon and then learning to stalk humans had given him light steps, and he'd scared more than one person by walking up behind them unnoticed.

The girl looked up as he got closer from her perch atop the beast.

"Need a hand?"

She considered him for a moment, before glancing back at Firestorm somewhat warily. Chewing on her lip, she seemed to come to a decision. "Sure, I could use the help."

"So I saw. I wouldn't be too hard on him though, he's still just a kid."

She looked irritated. "But he's the Avatar, he's got responsibilities! Instead he just wants to go off and play!"

"As I said, he's still just a kid." Katara grunted angrily, but seemed less ticked now that she'd had a chance to vent. The packing proceeded in silence from there, LaCroix taking advantage of his height to pass things up to Katara as she pointed them out.

0oOo0

The pink Pokemon carried her pokeball towards the walled town. She had been moving for the past few hours, and this was the first settlement she had come across. Maybe someone here would know where her trainer was?

"Oh, hello there," a kind voice said. "Are you some sort of spirit? All are welcome here as long as they do not bring trouble."

0oOo0

Sokka took a deep breath and knocked on the wall as he entered the training hall.

"You're back," Suki said, smirking at him with her arms crossed. "Ready to get beat up by a girl again?"

"Yes. I-I mean, I think I'm ready to train with you. I want to learn," Sokka said hesitantly.

"And you're sure you don't have any problem learning from a girl?" Suki grinned.

"I'm sure. I'm sorry for what I said earlier. A Water Tribe Warrior shouldn't behave like I did."

"And if we let you train with us, you agree to follow _all_ our traditions?"

Sokka gulped nervously. "Yes. Yes, I do."

"Great. Let's get started." Suki's cocked hip and knowing smirk made Sokka certain that he was going to hate what came next.

0oOo0

A school of fish scattered as a serpentine form swam towards them, catching several in its mouth. Devouring the fish, the monster rose to the surface to bask in the sun.

"Sir, there's something over there," the soldier announced.

The officer snatched the spyglass from his subordinate's hands. "Well, what is it?"

"Sir, it looked like a dragon."

"Impossible. The dragons are extinct."

"I know sir, but that's what it looked like."

The officer found what the soldier had been looking at. "Well, maybe you have a point. See what we have that might attract it. I want a closer look."

0oOo0

Firestorm let out a sigh as he began to doze. He and his partner had combed the island thoroughly after the encounter with the blue boy and the Leader of the Girl Warriors. No luck so far, neither he nor his partner had found any trace of his subordinates. His partner was resting now after assisting the blue girl with packing supplies on the strange white creature, and the Charizard had decided to sun himself at the base of the statue in the square. For some reason the locals had seemed to approve as he'd curled up at the statue's feet.

The Charizard's musings were interrupted by the sounds of heavy feet pounding the earth. His head perked up, and he took an experimental sniff of the air. A strange, pungent odor, similar to his own almost, came to him on the breeze, along with the scent of flame and ash. His eyes narrowed. Then he heard it.

A child's piercing scream.

Firestorm was on his feet in an instant, all traces of his normal lethargy sloughed off like a snake's skin. His eyes began to glow from within as he felt his blood stirring.

When LaCroix had told Aang that Charizards weren't Dragon-type Pokemon, he was telling the truth. But they had been once, millennia ago. And the blood still lingered, giving them the ability to use attacks like Dragon Claw and Twister. And now that blood was singing for battle. Nest Raiders, come to harm the Hatchlings of this place. Firestorm took flight, ready to rain down his namesake. They'd find no easy prey here.

0oOo0

A Hog Monkey sniffed at the metal sphere, trying to tell what it was. It pressed at the ball with its nose, jumping back and growling as the ball popped open and a monster emerged. The Hog Monkey bared its teeth and prepared for a meal.

A heavy club slammed into the Hog Monkey's nose, and a second strike sent it skulking away in search of an easier dinner. The Pokemon looked around, picked up his pokeball, and started walking.

0oOo0

A trio of Fire Soldiers were combing the village, making their way up the hill, when a shadow fell upon them. They had just enough time to look up and see a blazing meteor seeming to fall from the center of the sun before it impacted. They kept their feet, if only barely, but that was remedied as a tail thick as a man's waist and tipped with a white-hot flame whipped out of the dust cloud that had been kicked up, sending the three soldiers flying back several feet, all of them unconscious as a huge gout of flame erupted from the creature's mouth, burning the sky above.

Zuko, who had been prowling up the hill on the opposite side of the street, paused as the dust cloud was blown away by a single beat of massive wings. For a split second, golden eyes locked with glowing amber, before Zuko growled. This thing had attacked his crew. That couldn't be allowed to stand. Before he could follow through though, the beast's maw opened and a blast of flame erupted towards him. Scowling, the Fire Prince used his own flames to break the attack down the center. More flames followed, and for a moment Zuko was surrounded on all sides by fire, even as he used his own flames to break through the attacks. The hardest one to break was an intense blast of flame that vaguely resembled some sort of symbol. The heat from that one was so fierce that Zuko was forced to partially dodge out of the way, breaking through one of the "arms" of the blast instead of attempting to dispel it entirely.

The beast stopped its barrage, cocking its head to the side and seeming to analyze him with too-intelligent eyes. That momentary respite was all Zuko needed to launch a counter-attack, blasts of flame leaving his fists. They impacted its head and neck, and for a brief moment, the creature's face was obscured by smoke. For that same moment, Zuko dared hope that he'd won. Then the haze cleared with a negligent flap of wings, revealing singed scales... and a look of annoyance on the beast's snout. It adopted a look of concentration as its wings folded over its body and began to glow a shimmering blue, before unfurling, launching saw-toothed discs of energized air at the prince.

Zuko gaped, but didn't spare a moment to pause and ponder how a creature of Fire was now using Air. Instead he dodged and dived around the blades, noting how they scored the wood and earth where they impacted. The beast snorted a small plume of flame, before attempting to close into melee with Zuko.

The prince made the mistake of thinking that so large a creature would be unwieldy, and that it was better suited to fighting in the sky than on the land due to its wings. Thus the viper-quick slash of green-glowing claws caught him by surprise, slamming into his chest and scoring his armor with three deep grooves in the metal. Turning his fall backwards into a controlled tumble, Zuko came back to his feet and scowled at the beast.

What followed was Zuko attempting to cause some sort of harm to the beast with his firebending as he dodged and weaved around more glowing claw swipes of various colors, including one that was so dark as to be an absence of color altogether, attempts to swat or trip him up with its tail, or bat him into a wall or the ground with its wings. He was tagged more than once, but never a solid hit like the one that had marked his armor. The beast seemed to be tiring as well, but it was a slow process, and Zuko was starting to wonder which of them would make a fatal slip first.

As the fight continued to rage, a whistle suddenly rang out above the din of battle. The beast disengaged with a powerful flap of his wings, taking to the sky and easily evading Zuko's attempts to blast it down. Turning to follow his opponent, Zuko found himself confronting several girls in armored dresses and warpaint. He smirked as he assumed a stance. These, he could handle easily.

0oOo0

LaCroix grabbed for Maelstrom's pokeball, cursing as he remembered that he was separated from his team, when a hand caught at his elbow. The reverse punch he launched without thinking was deflected easily, and the PSI-Com agent turned to see who his opponent was, only to find Oyaji glaring at him impatiently. "Now that I have your attention, you have to get out of here!" the old man snapped.

"Not a chance in hell!" LaCroix snapped back, ducking the skidding body of a Fire Bender who had decided the Kyoshi Warrior that had been following LaCroix during his stay was an easy target, "I can help!"

"If you stay here, you and your monster will only be captured eventually! And then either forced to assist the Fire Nation, or killed! You'll help more people if you leave. Go with the Avatar. He-" Oyaji broke off to deliver a mule kick to a trooper who was struggling to turn his helmet right-way-round after Momo had jumped on his head and _twisted_, "-is powerful, he will be able to protect you and your monster from the Fire Nation."

"And do what? I can look after myself!" LaCroix rolled out of the way of a wave of flame, grabbing up a fist sized rock as he did so and pitching it at the Fire Bender's face. The clang and sudden spout of blood from behind the faceplate told him that he'd hit right on the nose.

""Then teach them what you can! Having an adult with them would help the Water Tribesman blend in. Now GO!" With that Oyaji propelled him out of the square with a literal swift kick in the ass.

Stumbling to regain his balance, LaCroix swore under his breath as he found himself face-to-face with a bearded old codger wearing decorated armor.

"Uh..." Deciding discretion was the greater part of valor, LaCroix turned and bolted, sticking his thumb and forefinger between his lips as he did so, and blasting loose a whistle that could be heard even over the roar of flames. He never thought bending could be quite so powerful based on what he had seen from Aang and Katara. Maybe they had been holding back more than he thought. A moment later a great winged shadow fell over him. Leaping onto a large rock, he propelled himself into the air, coming down on the broad back of Firestorm. Nudging his partner's sides with his heels, the PSI-Com agent steered the Charizard in the direction of the flying bison that had just blasted away from the island as well.

He had a mission now, and he'd be damned if he didn't follow through to the best of his abilities.

Behind and below him, General Iroh stroked his whiskers as he watched the blazing speck fade away in the distance. "Most intriguing," he mused, before turning to see what had become of his nephew.

He found said nephew stalking towards him, scowling even as he absent-mindedly rubbed at a trio of deep grooves that had been gouged into his chest plate. "Call back the troops Uncle, the Avatar is no longer here." Iroh nodded. His nephew was not injured badly, he would wait until they were back aboard to get the story behind those markings from him.


	2. What I Do Best

Solomon looked at the pitifully small pile of rations for a moment, then looked up at the four hungry faces around him, three teens and one Charizard. "I," he began, "am an absolute moron!"

"It's not your fault," Katara said glumly, rubbing one forearm, "I'm the one that was packing supplies." The girl started as Firestorm gently nudged her with the tip of one wing. LaCroix shook his head.

"No, it's mine. I should have realized that you wouldn't know how much Firestorm was capable of eating and helped you pack supplies. Instead Sokka and I were holed up in Bumi's library looking over information about the areas we were planning on passing through."

The PSI-Com agent grimaced as he thought back on the group's arrival and stay at Omashu. He'd managed to easily get himself and the kids inside the city with a simple story about being a cartographer and apprentices updating maps. A quick disguise made out of a bandanna for Aang had helped sell that bit of fiction. Things had immediately started a downhill plunge from there. While he set about acquiring some new sets of clothing and a few local maps to "compare to his own work", the kids had managed to get themselves arrested for messing with the city's unique mail delivery system. He'd been rounded up as well and the four of them had been brought before the king. Things had taken a turn for the strange then, with the decrepit king suddenly deciding to throw a feast in their honor.

In the end it had all been a setup in order for one of Aang's former friends to test him, and teach him a few lessons about thinking outside the box. The man had also demonstrated how formidable Earthbending was (as well as a physique that would have made Bruno of the Elite Four weep in envy), while Aang had shown what Airbending was actually capable of. It still gave him chills to think of the power that kid had. And the potential that was still to be unleashed.

Shaking his head, he moved on. After the fight and the revelation of who the King actually was, they'd been welcomed into the palace for a couple of days. LaCroix had taken that opportunity to ask Bumi for access to his library. With Sokka serving as a translator for the script on the scrolls and books thanks to a _tiny_ bit of manipulation ("a warrior seeks wisdom as well as strength") he had begun a frenzied study session to gain as much knowledge as he could about this world and its cultures in the short amount of time he had access to this resource. In the meantime, Bumi had been catching up with Aang, which had left Katara as the one to requisition their supplies. Leading to their current situation.

"Okay, assigning blame won't get any of us fed, so let's concentrate on foraging instead. We're pretty close to the ocean, so there should be a few feeder streams we can fish in. And fresh water means potential prey animals, as well as edible plants and wild fruit. Let's..." LaCroix stopped as a crash reverberated through the woods. The agent immediately recalled Firestorm and began moving towards the noise, Sokka flanking him as Aang and Katara trailed behind the two. A second crash had him picking up his pace, even as his arm flashed out to steady Sokka as the teen stumbled slightly.

"Are you sure we should be going _towards_ the crashing sound?" Sokka asked in a low voice.

LaCroix looked over at the teen. "Better to know what's sharing the woods with us than working ourselves up in fear of the unknown." Sokka nodded in understanding.

Skirting some underbrush and coming to a stop crouched behind a log, they were now in sight of a gully that had a small stream running through it. With a teenaged boy who appeared to be practicing some Earthbending, picking up decent-sized rocks and slamming them into the walls, creating the crashes they had heard. The kid was no Bumi, but not a lot of people were able to match over a hundred years of experience with raw talent.

"An earthbender," Katara murmured. Aang smiled.

"Let's go meet him."

Sokka frowned. "He looks dangerous so we'd better approach c-," But before he could finish, LaCroix had already slid over the log, Katara hot on his heels. The two approached, but before LaCroix could hail the kid, Katara beat him to the punch.

"Hello there, I'm Katara, and this is LaCroix. What's your name?"

The teen paused in the middle of the kata, turning around rapidly. Fear flashed over his face, before he took off running, caving in the sides of the gully as he passed them and creating a roadblock that would make tracking him nearly impossible.

"Nice to meet you!" Aang called after the departing boy.

"Well, something spooked him," LaCroix noted in a detached tone. Katara looked stunned.

"I just wanted to say hi," she muttered.

"Hey, that guy's gotta be running somewhere," Aang noted.

LaCroix nodded. "That would be the logical conclusion. And if it's a large enough settlement, they _should_ have a market. Which means we can stock up properly with some of the cash Bumi gave us." yet another favor he'd asked of the aging king. Some people may depend on the kindness of strangers, but a little incentive to help never hurt.

0oOo0

A half-hour trek found the four of them in the marketplace of a fairly populated village. "Everyone keep close please. And try not to draw attention to yourselves," he advised.

Of course, as soon as he said that he heard Aang exclaiming over a hat while Sokka was chuckling at the kid's antics. And then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Katara heading towards a door, a look somewhere between curious and determined on her face.

'_And my landlady wonders why I haven't settled down with a nice girl at my age,'_ Solomon thought wryly to himself as he went after Katara. Catching up to her just as the door opened, he saw into the room, where an older woman and...

"Hey, you're that kid. Why did you run away before?"

"Good question. I know I haven't had a chance to shave in a while, but I didn't figure myself to look quite _that_ scary yet," Solomon tossed in as he herded Katara inside, snapping his fingers behind him to get Sokka and Aang's attention. The boy looked nervous as they entered behind LaCroix.

"Uh, you must have me confused with some other kid."

"Kinda hard to forget you with the noise you were making earlier throwing those rocks around," LaCroix countered.

Both the woman and the teen gasped, and almost faster than Solomon could follow, the door and shutters had been closed. '_For an older gal, she can really move_,' LaCroix thought.

"They saw you _Earthbending_?" she practically hissed.

"They're crazy mom, I mean, look at how they're dressed!"

Katara, Sokka and Aang all looked somewhat self-conscious, while LaCroix merely folded his arms and cocked an eyebrow.

"You _know_ how dangerous that is! You know what would happen if _they_ caught you earthbending!"

0oOo0

What had followed that sentence left Solomon wondering if one of these spirits that Aang was supposed to be a conduit for had any relation to the concept of Murphy from back home.

A patrol of Fire Nation soldiers had shown up, their leader demanding a "tax" while throwing around threats as subtly as an erupting volcano. After the worst bit of faked nonchalance that he'd ever seen from the kids (and a mental note to talk to them later about teaching them a bit about acting) the patrol had left.

Questions directed at Haru and his mother got the full story out eventually. The Fire Nation had been occupying the village for years, and any Earthbenders had been caught and taken away. Including Haru's father. His mother had been kind enough to offer them the barn to sleep in for the night, which LaCroix had gratefully accepted, electing to keep Firestorm balled up for the night due to the large quantities of hay in the building.

While he, Aang and Sokka had been out getting their supplies from the local market (and making sure that they bought plenty from Haru's mom along the way) Katara had taken off with Haru. They'd come back with Katara bubbling over with how Haru had saved an old man from a cave in with his earthbending and how happy she was for him to have had a chance to help someone. Solomon had had a bad feeling, but brushed it off. The kid had saved the old man's life. Surely that alone would keep his mouth shut?

Apparently Solomon had underestimated just how cowed the villagers were by the Fire Nation. Upon waking he'd found Katara and Haru's mother together. The Fire Nation had come in the night as they slept and taken the boy, led by the old man that Haru had saved.

One look at Katara's eyes had told him that she wanted to go after them, that she felt personally responsible for his plight. And to be perfectly candid, she was. The plan that they had worked out was beautifully simple. Sokka's hunter's eyes had spotted several vents scattered throughout the mountains, and he had deduced that they could fake Earthbending by having Aang blast air through them to lift rocks at a given signal.

LaCroix had taken that plan, and improved on it. Instead of the original idea of Katara and Sokka having a fake fight leading to her "earthbending", he would pose as her teacher, and let them both get caught in "the act". The plan had gone off without a hitch, though there was a brief moment where Solomon had to wonder exactly how brain-dead these soldiers were to think that a lemur was earthbending.

But in the end, they had managed to get captured. LaCroix had divested himself of his tonfa beforehand, but after the rather shoddy patdown he'd been given to determine if he had any dirt or stone on him, he was convinced that he could have gotten the weapons in easily.

Once they'd gotten to the prison rig, they'd been greeted personally by the warden. Who had acted the urban, civilized host... right up until a man had coughed while he was speaking, earning him a week in solitary and nearly getting his feet blasted off of him by the warden.

As the warden continued to "chat up his guests" they were escorted through the rig, which was apparently a shipyard where the captive Earthbenders were used as slave labor to construct ships for the Fire Nation. Eventually they were shown through a series of three solid gates and into a large, open compound. As Solomon stepped through, the last gate slammed shut behind him. Turning to look, he saw that it was almost seamlessly level with the floor. No levering that up. He turned back as Katara calling out to Haru came to his ears. Stretching out his arms and back as he went (it'd been a long, uncomfortable ride out here) he approached the two.

"Heya kid." Haru looked even more shocked to see him than he was Katara.

"LaCroix? You're here too?" The teen shook his head. "Never mind that right now. Katara, there's someone I want you to meet." So saying Haru grabbed Katara's wrist and towed her along behind him. LaCroix followed looking somewhat bemused. He had a feeling he knew who Haru was talking about.

Sure enough, Haru led them straight to an older gentleman, who he proudly introduced as his father. The man was apparently the leader of the prisoners, as during the course of their chat and meal (which had been bad, but not as bad as starving), another prisoner had come up to him looking for a decision. Then, Katara had leaned forward in a conspiratorial manner, and murmured "What's the plan?"

Before the older man could reply, LaCroix gently pushed her back into a full upright position. "Two things Katara. First off, when making plans, it helps if you don't actually _look_ like you're making a plan." His eyes cut to the various troops manning the wall. "Second, the man's been here for over five years and hasn't escaped yet. _We_ are the plan."

Katara looked stunned at that. Turning back to Tyro, he began to question the older man. "Okay, so this may be a dumb question, but has someone tried to swim down far enough to grab some earth from the seabed? There are at least a few strong youngsters like Haru here, I saw that much. At least one of them should know how to swim."

Tyro shook his head. "We're in extremely deep water here, and the guards would have noticed someone jumping the rails. And now, even if there were someone capable of making it all the way to the bottom and back, the sea serpent that showed up about a week ago has everyone scared to even get too close to the railings." Haru nodded fervently.

"I didn't believe it until dad pointed it out to me yesterday. It's a _gigantic_ long blue snake-looking thing with scales like armor, and thicker than a Fire Nation ship's skin! It's got whiskers like a sea serpent, and a huge mouth filled to the brim with gigantic fangs bigger than I am! It had horns coming out of its head too, and fins on either side of its mouth."

LaCroix leaned forward, suddenly much more focused. "Did you happen to see the color of its eyes?" Haru nodded shakily.

"Yes, they were dark red. And really, REALLY creepy. It was swimming around the base of the platform, and it looked up, and it seemed to be looking _right at me_. Like it was deciding whether to swallow me whole... or chew for a _really _long time. I haven't gone near the edge since."

For some reason Solomon looked delighted by this bit of news, but his face fell as he turned to talk to Katara, who had gotten up and walked away while he was questioning Haru and his father. And now she was... The agent bit back a groan as the girl began to bang on a pan to get everyone's attention, even as he let his face fall into his hand.

After her, admittedly rousing speech, LaCroix got up and moved towards her. Gently, he helped her down from the table. She looked... lost. He patted her gently on the shoulder, murmuring gently to her, "They've been under the Warden's thumb for a long time Katara. Their courage has been set aside simply to survive."

0oOo0

Later that night, Katara was woken by a gentle shake. Starting, she was met by Aang and LaCroix, both of them with their fingers to their lips, though only Aang made a noise.

The three had met with Sokka, who was hovering on the edge of the platform atop Appa. LaCroix had pointed out early on that using Firestorm to make their escape would have been foolhardy at best, suicide at worst, what with his beacon of a tail.

As Katara made her case for staying, LaCroix leaned over and grabbed his pack from the saddle, secured his tonfa to his arms, and began to dig through the bag. A flash of light caught his attention, and without preamble he hurried the kids away. Unfortunately, something had tipped the soldiers off that there was trouble brewing, as the entire rig had gone into lockdown. Aang and Sokka, however, had come up with a brilliant plan, even by his estimation.

The only flaw in the plan was the fact that in order for it to work, they would have to be totally exposed. As Sokka reassured his sister one more time, the PSI-Com agent fingered the trinket he'd been digging in his pack for. He cursed mentally as the alarm was raised, even as he went back-to-back-to-back with the kids. Tyro called out to tehm from beyond the guards.

"Katara, LaCroix; stop! You _can't_win this fight!"

"Maybe not on our own, but I've got friends in low places," LaCroix snapped back at the older man. Raising one hand to his lips, he blew a deafening blast through the alarm whistle in his grasp.

0oOo0

Beneath the rig, a crimson eye snapped open as a familiar sound shook the slumbering beast to consciousness. Trainer was here! His battle-brothers were probably here too! Now all that was left was to reach the metal-land high above. How... of course!

Scooping up a tiny object in its mouth, the beast began to twist and spin its serpentine body. A vortex began to form in the waters around it, surging with more and more power as it crafted its technique.

0oOo0

On the surface, the Warden approached, looking irritated. "Listen to him well, children," it was obvious that he was including LaCroix in grouping, "You're one mistake away from dying where you stand."

At that moment, an eruption occurred within the slave compound. A fountain of black dust and chunks of coal surged skywards from within the vent. As it ended Aang appeared, coated liberally with coal dust and coughing. Katara rushed forward, grasping a chunk of coal and hefting it aloft.

Passionatly, she spoke once more to the Earthbenders, but they all backed away or were held in place by their fellows. As the Warden mocked the girl, LaCroix bit back a surge of anger at the old man. "Any time now buddy," he muttered, causing Sokka to give him a curious look.

Then, as the warden finished and turned, dismissing them all, Haru struck. Followed swiftly by the warden striking back. And a father's love overcame caution, as Tyro shielded his son from the blast, and called out to his compatriots to attack, while the warden yelled for his guards to show no mercy.

0oOo0

Below, the gathering force had reached its peak, now a fully-formed maelstrom, had any of the guards been watching the water to see it. With a mighty flex of its entire muscled and armored body, the form that had crafted this happening shot to the surface, and then broke it, carried aloft within the center of its technique.

0oOo0

A second eruption took place now, but instead of coal and dust it was water and foam; and instead of a small skinny boy, it produced a fearsome serpent of azure scales and crimson eyes. There was stunned silence for a moment, before LaCroix broke past the Firebender guards, skidding to a stop in the shadow of the monster which was in the process of leaning down and opening its maw. Katara screamed at him to run, but instead of lunging, a small, familiar looking orb dropped from the beast's mouth, and into LaCroix's waiting hand. An ear-splitting roar broke the sudden silence, as its tail whipped through the air, gaining a sheen of water, and swatted three of the guards over the fence and into the drink.

"Ignore the beast! Fight on!" Tyro roared. The battle was ended quickly after that, the Fire Benders attention split between the fearsome sea serpent raging about the platform, and the unrelenting attacks of the Earth Benders.

As the last of the guards was tossed over the side, the kids approached the serpent, who was even now nuzzling into LaCroix's hand as the agent scratched behind one of the fins at the side of its mouth. "Guys, I'd like you to meet Maelstrom, one of my oldest Pokemon. Speaking of..." A flick of his wrist had a pokeball in his free hand, which was promptly expanded, and opened. Firestorm blinked at the glare of the sun, before giving a joyful roar as he beheld the wall of cerulean scales next to his partner. Maelstrom roared a greeting in return, and both of them let fly bursts of their respective elements, angling up far out of the way of the humans.

Fire met water with a mighty hiss, both attacks dissipating into a cloud of steam that floated away, as Firestorm and Maelstrom moved closer to each other, headbutting their opposite lightly.

Everyone on the rig had stopped at the first sign of attacks, and were now gaping at the two creatures, before a yell from Tyro got them all moving back towards the boats, while LaCroix balled both of the monsters. "We can compare notes later you two, right now we've got a Bison to catch."

Neither pokemon protested as they were recalled, and as LaCroix walked to the edge of the platform where Appa was hovering, he was walking a bit straighter, his head a little higher and his steps a little lighter. His team was here. Scattered, but here. One more reason to stick with the kids, their journey was taking them from pole to pole. Literally. Which made it all the more likely that he'd find his team, even if they were scattered hundreds of miles between here and the small group's next destination.


End file.
